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Lover guilty in 'murderous plot'

Nicola Puddicombe was sentenced to life imprisonment Thursday night after a jury convicted her of first-degree murder for her part in the axe killing of long-time boyfriend Dennis Hoy.

Nicola Puddicombe with Dennis Hoy. (ONTARIO SUPERIOR COURT HANDOUT)

By Betsy PowellCourts Bureau

Fri., Dec. 4, 2009

Nicola Puddicombe was sentenced to life imprisonment Thursday night after a jury convicted her of first-degree murder for her part in the axe killing of long-time boyfriend Dennis Hoy.

The 36-year-old former Loblaws manager stared blankly as the jury foreman delivered the verdict and later declined to address the court.

"This was a man you had a relationship with for many years. He was young and had his whole life ahead of him," Ontario Superior Court Justice Mary Lou Benotto told Puddicombe, who was wearing a baggy oatmeal-coloured sweater.

Not only did Puddicombe "cut that life short," but she had given Hoy a back rub and "lulled" him into falling asleep before he was murdered with an axe early on Oct. 27, 2006. "It was a cowardly act."

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Puddicombe will not be eligible for parole for 25 years.

The verdict was bittersweet for Hoy's parents, Norman and Anna, who last June saw another jury acquit Puddicombe's former lover, Ashleigh Pechaluk, of first-degree murder.

The jury began its deliberations Tuesday just before 3 p.m. and returned Thursday just after 7 p.m.

The sentencing was expedited because the Hoys were leaving Friday morning for a visit to China, a country they left 50 years ago.

"We had a fair trial," Anna Hoy, 74, said, thanking the judge, police and the Crowns who had "worked hard on this case for three years."

She gave a small bow as she thanked the jurors, some of them in tears, who had returned to the courtroom and were sitting in the back row.

"Finally we got a good result," Norman Hoy, 75, said following his wife to the witness stand. "I never cried before but ... when I go home, I'm sure I'm going to cry," he said outside the courtroom.

Crown Attorney Tom Lissaman, who also prosecuted Pechaluk with Maureen Bellmore, said they were pleased the Hoys received "some justice in the murder of their son and that Ms. Puddicombe's been held responsible for her role in that murder."

Defence lawyer Richard Stern said the case "has been a great tragedy for everyone concerned."

"This ends, I guess, Chapter Two in the story and Chapter One didn't end in the same way. These two results will leave a lot of people uncomfortable," Stern said outside court standing beside co-counsel Sonya Shikhman.

Contacted by phone, Pechaluk's lawyer, Peter Zaduk, said the verdict "was consistent with the jury accepting Pechaluk's innocence and her testimony about Puddicombe." He reiterated it was unfortunate Pechaluk's character has been "castigated in this case despite her acquittal."

Outside the courthouse, Grenville Puddicombe said his niece would "never, ever murder Dennis. I think an injustice was done today. We will look into an appeal. ... It's just really sad."

The GO Transit special constable was struck with the blunt end of an axe at least six times as he slept in Puddicombe's bed in her apartment on The Queensway.

The prosecution alleged Puddicombe conspired with Pechaluk to get rid of Hoy about a year after the two women became involved in a sexual relationship.

Benotto, who presided over both cases, had told jurors hearing evidence at Puddicombe's trial that they should not place any evidentiary value on Pechaluk's acquittal.

Despite the earlier not guilty verdict, the prosecution maintained during Puddicombe's trial both women were "entwined" in the "murderous plot," which delegated Pechaluk to swing the axe and Puddicombe to deceive police as to who was responsible for the murder.

Puddicombe did not testify at her own trial.

Stern advanced the theory that Pechaluk was a "disturbed person" who, obsessed with Puddicombe, cooked up the scheme, told a couple of friends and delivered the fatal blows without his client's knowledge.

Pechaluk, during her trial and as a witness in this case, implicated her former lover in his murder.

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